Future Technologies
There are five "technology strands" in Fate of the World; Biotech, Energy, Information, Materials, and Robotics. Each regions starts with a different value in each strand and will automatically develop technologies at certain dates based on these values. You can increases these values by having agents fund research in the strands. Research speed is also affected by a region's HDI; rich, well-educated, and long-lived people research technologies faster. Therefore, it's most efficient to fund research in North America, Japan, Oceania, and Europe, as these regions have high HDIs and the highest starting research values. Once a region researches a new technology, the technology automatically spreads to "friendly" regions. For other regions, you can either pay $50 to have agents acquiring the technology or you can wait until the region in question researches the technology themselves. Technology is researched and acquired in order; 2nd Generation Biofuels are naturally research before 3rd Generation Biofuels. Note that researching the same strand in multiple regions is not cumulative and won't make researching faster. 'Biotechnology Research Strand' (Original research date) ''2nd Generation Biofuels (2050) While 1st generation biofuels require using crops like wheat, corn, and sugar to create biofuels, 2nd generation biofuels are made from agricultural waste and crops that humans don't eat. Because of this, 2nd generation biofuels can be produced without using food supplies, though growing biofuel crops still takes up farmland. In addition, 2nd generation biofuels produce less emissions than 1st generation biofuels. ''High-Yield Crop Strains (2070) Crops that have been genetically modified to provide high yields with reduced needs for pesticides or fertilisers. Once a region has access to these crop strains, an agent can implement them for $20 per turn to increases food yields. If the card is canceled later, the yield goes down again. ''3rd Generation Biofuels (2110) 3rd generation biofuels are made from genetically-modified vat-grown algae. The advantage of using algae rather than other plants is that they can produce considerably more energy for land area used. They don't affect fresh water supplies and can be grown in open ponds or out at sea. 3rd gen biofuels produce very high yields of synthetic oil and petrochemicals. ''Nano-Medicine (2175) Initiates wide-spread use of Medical Nano-bots to combat disease, toxins, and to increase the life expectance of the population. While it does help increase the overall health of a region, it is typically not much help given how advanced the tech is and how expensive it is to keep funded. Also, given enough time the population would increasingly have a swelling Elderly population who demand resources (power, food, etc) but aren't contributing to the GDP, possibly straining the a late-game balance. 'Energy Research Strand' ''Carbon Capture & Storage (2035) Carbon capture & storage (CCS) reduces emissions by capturing CO2 from fossil fuel power plants and storing it securely, preventing it from getting into the atmosphere and contribute to warming. The CO2 can be stored in depleted oil and gas reservoirs, deep saline formations, and unminable coal beds on land or at sea. Once a CCS system is broadly established, a region can use fossil fuels with less effect on warming. However, establishing the system takes decades. ''4th Generation Nuclear (Fast Breeder Reactors) (2040) Fast breeder reactors increase the amount of usable uranium a region has access to by "breeding" fuel from otherwise unusable uranium sources. This allows for much greater efficiency in uranium usage. However, these reactors can also be used to create weapons grade plutonium, a dangerous substance in the hands of highly militant or unstable regions. ''Solar Photovoltaic Cell (2065) Enables significant expansions to solar power generation, making it a useful technology for regions committing to renewables. Third technology in the Energy research strand after 4th generation nuclear. ''1st Generation Fusion (2130) Produces fusion power, a new source of clean renewable energy. Quite expensive to deploy (50/turn), but add an additional 1000 TWh to you Renewable energy capabiliies. ''2nd Generation Fusion (2200) 'Information Technology Research Strand' ''Smartgrids (2030) Smart grids are a way of hooking up electricity grids using two-way digital communications to make the most efficient use of the electricity. By distributing electricity more efficiently, smart grids reduce energy costs and, for a system reliant on fossil fuels, reduce emissions from the energy sector. Smart grids can also make energy systems more reliable by using real-time information from across the grid to fix outages. ''Quantum Computing (2090) Gives significant gains in productivity, and unlocks the road to sentient machines. Raises productivity across all sectors. ''Super-Smart Grids (2110) Enables maximum exploitation of renewable resources. ''Artificial Intelligence (2150) A computer intelligence whose functioning exceeds a human. Allows deployment of Security AI ,Market AI and Meteorologist AIs (Each $50/turn). ''Security AIs basically guarentees Region Stability by integrating with law enforcement and keeping an Orwelian watch over any possible dissidents. However, the longer it is in place the more repressive (and hated) it becomes. Useful for swiftly bringing even the most volitile Regions under control but not able to be used in War Zones. Market AIs are safeguards against a Financial Collapse crippling a Region. Any Region under the guidence of a Market AI will not suffer the massive unemployment or GDP crash that overstretched Commerce sectors frequently cause (especially when resources shortages occur). Has not been shown to increase the actual GDP or efficiency of a Region. Meteorologist AIs ''help to alert the Region to impending disasters and to lessen the impact. As tempuratures rise and disasters become more frequent a Meteorologist AI will do all in its power to keep a Regions people out of harms way, raising their support for the GEO and minimizing the effects of the disaster. However, just as the disaster defenses can be overwhelmed, so too can the AI, so it is not going to stop everything. 'Materials Research Strand' ''Advanced Drilling Techniques (2024) Allows for greater exploitation of fossil fuels and increased geothermal power potential. While not going to revitalize the oil or coal extraction to meet the original demands, it does help maximize the amount available as well as open up the geothermal renewable energy source. ''Supertensile Materials (2080) Enables advanced constructions. Useful, if following renewables path, allows further increases in renewable mix. ''1st-gen Nanotechnology (2125) Allows complex molecules to be mass-assembled. Allows production of nano-based fuel (for 50/turn) which uses energy, essentially removing the need for fossil fuels in industry and agriculture but also increasing energy demand in those sectors. Make sure that there is sufficent power to compensate or face an energy shortage. ''2nd-gen Nanotechnology (2200) Permits the construction of autonomous microscopic robots capable of performing tasks far beyond human capability. Improves nano-based fuel extraction and reduces toxins. If able to exploit early then they allow the Space Extraction and Space Factory projects which carry the promise of solving resourse shortages and even for alien contact (but actually getting to this tech remains tricky) 'Robotics Research Strand' ''Stratospheric Aerosols (2050) A cheap but highly controversial technique to cool down the planet by deploying aerosols into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight back into space, essentially decreasing the extra radiative forcing of the world. Deploying stratospheric aerosols seem to be the only way to lower global temperature, especially once the Arctic circle starts to melt and release methane. However, regions with green outlooks will lose a lot of support if you deploy the aerosols in them. Eco-Fanatical regions, for example, can lose up to 5 hearts of support at a time. ''Benthic Depressurisation (2070) Allows commercial exploitation of seabed methane clathrate deposits. Mining clathrates produces a lot of methane, dramatically increasing temperature rise. It's usually better to ban clathrates than to use them. ''Advanced Turbines (2090) Allows for greater efficiencies in renewable power generation. ''Thermo-Ionic Desalination (2140)'' Allows seawater to be purified with very low energy input. Increases water supply but is expensive to deploy. Use only in areas where all other means of lower water stressed have not been enough to sustain themselves (Typically North Africa, Middle East and maybe India)